It's Time to Cash In on Climate Change

In this July 17, 2013 photo, workers assemble solar panels at a factory in Hefei, in central China's Anhui province. (AP Photo)

(Newser)
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How should you react to the looming threat of climate change? By whipping out your checkbook and investing, Barry Ritholtz at Bloomberg argues. "Change and confusion equals opportunity," he argues, and there are already a host of innovative companies preparing for the crisis. He recommends McKenzie Funk's new book, Windfall: The Booming Business of Global Warming, a "hugely entertaining" look at how investors are and should be reacting. "There are macro opportunities galore."

"The closest parallel I can think of is that while 15th-century clerics insisted that the world was flat," Ritholtz explains, "savvy venture capitalists were investing in Christopher Columbus's Round-Earth startup." Sure, there are still people who believe that man-made climate change doesn't exist, and "thank goodness they exist—someone has to be on the losing side of the trade, and it might as well be the flat earthers." Click for Ritholtz's full column. (Read more climate change stories.)

The consensus in the 15th century was the world was flat just like the global warming people are the consensus now. The flat earthers ignored the available data just like the global warming people do now. Columbus' four expeditions lost skads of money for their investors and Columbus died a broken man. Only when gold was stolen from the IP did Spain make its money back. You should be able to invest in whatever you want with your money. Don't ask me to put my taxes into the President's supporters pockets. Like he did with Solyndra and Fiskar for example.